There’s something satisfying about making a food from scratch at least once. There’s also something satisfying about realizing you never need to do it again.
That second feeling came up quite a bit when we asked culinary pros which foods they’re perfectly content to buy frozen. French fries, vegetables, pizza dough and even vanilla ice cream all got a mention. The freezer aisle can save a lot of work, especially when the version already sitting there is pretty good already.
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Knowing how to make something doesn’t mean a chef wants to spend hours doing it every time either. If the frozen version is already good, there’s not much reason to turn dinner into an all-afternoon project just to make every last piece of it yourself. Especially when all that extra work may not leave you with something noticeably better.
For four of the experts we spoke with, one food in particular had long since crossed that line. They know their way around the homemade version, but they’d still rather buy it frozen. One expert even stuck with making his own for years before finally deciding he’d had enough. Read on to see what frozen foods these chefs never make and what other frozen food shortcuts they like to take.
The Big Reveal: Why Chefs Refuse to Make Puff Pastry From Scratch
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The frozen food our culinary pros agreed they’d rather buy? Puff pastry.
These days, David Leite, the founder and publisher of Leite’s Culinaria, reaches for Dufour Puff Pastry, which he says is as tasty as his homemade version but much more consistent. He especially likes that it’s made with the same basic ingredients he uses himself: butter, flour, water, salt and lemon juice.
Krystel Spann, a culinary-trained recipe developer and founder of Krystel’s Cooking, has also made laminated dough from scratch, and knowing the process is precisely why she’s willing to skip it. “A good frozen puff pastry gives you a beautifully crisp, buttery result with a fraction of the work,” she says. “For the average home cook, I think it’s one of those shortcuts where you really aren’t sacrificing much by buying it.”
Chef Dean Harper, founder of Harper Privé, agrees, particularly when an all-butter frozen puff pastry is available. Beyond saving time, he likes that a frozen sheet has an even thickness, which makes shaping easier, and that it can stay in the freezer until it’s needed.
Leite uses frozen puff pastry for turnovers, beef Wellington, palmiers, napoleons, pot pies and cheese sticks. He even uses it for Portuguese pastéis de nata when he doesn’t feel like making the pastry himself.
Related: 10 Trader Joe’s Frozen Foods That Make Weeknight Dinner So Much Easier
The Culinary Math: Why the Scratch Version Isn’t Worth the Effort
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So, what makes puff pastry such an intensive project? Those flaky layers don’t happen by accident. The classic method involves enclosing butter in dough, then rolling, folding and chilling it repeatedly to build layer after layer.
“It’s perfectly possible at home, but it takes several hours of elapsed time and enough fridge space to keep everything cool between turns,” Harper says. “If the butter gets too warm and blends into the dough, you lose the structure you’ve worked to build.”
Spann knows the process firsthand too. “I’ve learned how to make laminated dough from scratch, so I have a lot of respect for the process—but that’s also exactly why I’m happy to buy it frozen!” she says. “Making puff pastry properly requires repeated rolling, folding, chilling and careful temperature control to create all of those flaky layers.”
The payoff from buying it frozen isn’t just saving a few steps. You get the laminating out of the way entirely and can spend that time on whatever the pastry is actually holding. As Harper puts it, “For something like a mushroom tart, I’d much rather spend my time cooking a really good filling than organizing the afternoon around chilling dough.”
Other Frozen Shortcuts Culinary Experts Secretly Rely On
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Puff pastry isn’t the only thing these culinary pros are happy to leave to the freezer aisle. Here are a few other shortcuts they keep around.
Phyllo dough: Spann is also happy to buy phyllo dough frozen rather than make it from scratch.
Hash browns and french fries: Spann also skips the potato prep and buys both frozen.
Frozen fruits and vegetables: Spann buys peas and corn, while Rena Awada, a certified nutrition coach (PN1) and founder of Healthy Fitness Meals, stocks peas, corn, spinach, berries and edamame. Awada likes having produce available year-round and being able to portion out only what she needs.
Pizza dough: Awada sometimes reaches for frozen pizza dough when she doesn’t want to make her own.
Stuffed potato skins: Leite starts with frozen potato skins, then piles on more cheese, bacon and fresh chives.
Pearl onions: Leite happily skips the snipping, blanching and peeling required to prep them. “I’m too old and impatient to snip, blanch and peel them by hand,” he says.
Vanilla ice cream: Leite makes plenty of his own ice cream, but vanilla is the exception. After trying numerous homemade versions without getting the clean, milky vanilla flavor he wants, “I buy Häagen-Dazs and tell no one,” he says.
How Chefs Elevate Store-Bought Frozen Puff Pastry
You don’t need to do much to frozen puff pastry, but Spann says there is one thing to watch: the temperature.
“The biggest thing is keeping it cold. I thaw puff pastry according to the package directions, but I don’t let it sit around until it becomes warm and overly soft. Cold dough helps those layers puff beautifully in the oven,” she says.
From there, she likes to dress it up a little. “I also like brushing the top with an egg wash before baking for that glossy, golden-brown finish. Depending on what I’m making, I might add coarse sugar for a sweet pastry, or Parmesan, herbs or flaky salt for something savory.”
If you’re making a tart, Harper says to watch the filling too. He cooks mushrooms until their liquid has evaporated and lets them cool before putting them on the pastry.
“Keep the topping fairly light so the pastry isn’t buried beneath a thick, wet layer,” Harper says. “Follow the packet’s baking temperature and fully preheat the oven before the tart goes in. I’d check underneath before taking it out rather than judge it only by the color around the edges.”
Once it’s done, he moves the tart to a wire rack for a few minutes so steam can escape underneath rather than soften the bottom.
Leite, meanwhile, doesn’t bother with any of this when he uses Dufour. “I do nothing to it. The dough is perfect every time,” he says.
Final Thoughts
Frozen puff pastry is also just a handy thing to have around. A sheet in the freezer can turn leftover vegetables, a little cheese or whatever fruit needs to be used up into a tart without much effort. And considering it works for everything from pot pies to palmiers, you probably won’t have much trouble finding a reason to use it.
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Related: The Secret Way To Make Frozen Pie Crust 10x Better, According to Pastry Experts
This story was originally published by Parade on Sep 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the Food & Drink section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
